Jamiri
Encyclopedia
Jamiri is one of the most recognized comics artists in Germany.
Jamiri has published nine comic collections since 1990. He has published one- and two-page comics
in German magazines since 1992. Today, he has more than one million readers monthly.
from 1972 until 1985. In 1985 he attended the Ruhr-University of Bochum where he began studying comparative literature and philosophy. He then switched in 1986 to a design
major at the comprehensive university in Essen
.
Jan-Michael Richter has lived in Essen since 1986. He married Beate Kleinschmidt in 2000. She often appears as a character in his comics. He is also the cousin of the famous soccer player Mehmet Scholl
.
, one of the largest and most acclaimed online magazines in Germany. Altogether, it is estimated that Jamiri has over a million monthly readers.
Jamiri also publishes comic collections in a classical format (DIN A4 with 48 pages). Since 1994 he has published eight such collections. Although these collections are only available in German currently, translations are underway.
. The settings are usually local, real places in Germany, and are populated by people in his life, first and foremost his wife, Beate. Many of the depicted incidents are borrowed from actual experiences. The realistic depictions of places and people sometimes draw speculation from fans that the characters are exactly as portrayed. His comic reality is flexible, however. As with many authors, the circumstances are edited creatively, and are sometimes pure imagination.
The authenticity of the people and lifestyles allows many Germans to identify with the comics. Those printed in Unicum have been gathered by many generations of students and hung in dormitories because they mirror daily life. The struggles with dominant girlfriend Beate, with unruly computers and broken-down cars, with shrinking wallets and increasing age, and with other perils of daily life, unite Jamiri and his readers as comrades of fate.
In these struggles, the comic figure Jamiri is clearly positioned as an antihero who regularly endures defeat. However, he puts these defeats into perspective, indeed, nearly celebrates them, with abundant sarcasm
and self-irony, and despite everything, has the last word. The steadfastness of the protagonist who will not be kept down by a cruel world could explain the enduring popularity of Jamiri and the loyalty of fans who identify strongly with the underdog
.
Jamiri touches on a wide range of personal topics in his comics. Casual commentary about societal issues is often tucked away within the narrative. Even so, he polarizes his readership with pointed observations and punch lines. Jamiri is just as relentless with the world as he is with his protagonists and alter-ego.
Throughout his career, the artist has encountered many irate reader protests. Two themes in particular trigger the ire of letter writers: the portrayal of God
, who, as a merry white-haired man with a bushy beard, often plays a part in the daily life of Jamiri comic characters, and the subject of men and women and relationships
and sex
, in which the usual clichés are highlighted with blithe exaggeration.
Jamiri fans regularly jump to his defense against critical letters or commentary in internet forums, and make a case for the freedom of expression. More than once, these forum wars have hinged on the definition of satire
. Jamiri's fans appreciate exactly what some find offensive: the contemplative but irreverent handling of sensitive topics. They find the nonchalance and flouting of convention liberating. In this light, Jamiri's comics cut across generational lines, particularly among students from year to year.
The delight of the artist in provoking such controversy
is apparent in his responses to criticism. On multiple occasions, Jamiri has followed disputed comics with sequels, sometimes several. One of the most notorious is the comic "Oeyn", in which the character Jamiri is told to stop the car because his passenger, God, needs to urinate. In the sequel "Oeyn 2," when Jamiri discusses the letters he has received from readers, God once again asks him to pull over. In "Oeyn returns," God taunts Jamiri that he would not receive any more angry letters if he did not make any more comics about Him. They debate who is the actual Creator of the Page, until the artist proves his dominance by turning God into a duck
.
Similarly, the appearance of a bosom in one of Jamiri's comic caused an outcry. Against the protest that the breasts were too well-lit, Jamiri drew "+Lux" [+Light], a more shining example of the same, and wrote "THAT'S well-lit." He replied to the resulting "record-breaking" number of letters—in which he was called, among other things, a "breast fetishist" -- with the comic "Sequel." After an apparent apology ("a horrible misunderstanding"), a female backside projects jauntily into the picture.
In one notable instance, the artist abandoned his levity for a more grave response. During the period of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
, in which the cartoonists of Islamic fanatics were threatened with death, Jamiri published the text "Freischwimmer" instead of a comic in the March 2006 edition of Unicum. After the initial remark that for him, humor had been temporarily extinguished, he addressed the current events in detail. Within the text, he supported humanism
and a single, universal rationality
that would finally render all religions obsolete. He cited the Islamic thinker Averroes
, that philosophy in comparison to religion is a higher and purer truth, and religion in principle is simply a way of dressing up philosophical awareness.
Through his capacity as regular artist for Unicum and the Spiegel Online
, and through his antics with middle-class bourgeois content and intellectual inconsistencies, Jamiri functions as a comic artist of German intellectualism
and an academic. Here too, he presents himself as an architect of self-conscious discrepancies, in that he regularly links intellectual flights of fancy and banal daily activities, or sets them up in stark relief. His language-critical commentary is likewise well-known, in which he nitpicks at the misuse and gradual disappearance of the German genitive or distinguishes between "subtle" and "subliminal" in exaggerated fashion. Philosophy
and psychology
are also regular topics. Since the beginning of his stint as a regular artist for the memoranda of the German mathematics
community, mathematics has also become a ripe topic. In the German "Großes Kino," Jamiri will make his film
debut with the shorts "Das schweigende Lemma" and "Last Axiom Hero."
, Häuptling Eigener Herd, Info 3, Magic Attack, Neue Ruhr Zeitung, Petra, Prinz, Ran, TAZ, WDR Online, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Wieselflink
Jamiri has published nine comic collections since 1990. He has published one- and two-page comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
in German magazines since 1992. Today, he has more than one million readers monthly.
Biography
Jan-Michael Richter attended the Waldorf school in BochumBochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
from 1972 until 1985. In 1985 he attended the Ruhr-University of Bochum where he began studying comparative literature and philosophy. He then switched in 1986 to a design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
major at the comprehensive university in Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
.
Jan-Michael Richter has lived in Essen since 1986. He married Beate Kleinschmidt in 2000. She often appears as a character in his comics. He is also the cousin of the famous soccer player Mehmet Scholl
Mehmet Scholl
Mehmet Scholl is a former German football player with Turkish-German ancestry. He played most of his career as an attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich...
.
Publicity and Distribution
Jan-Michael Richter has drawn comics since childhood. In 1990 he began to draw professionally. In 1992, he became a regular comic artist for the Ruhr city magazine, Marabo. He has since published comics in other magazines. Through his strong association with the large German university magazine, Unicum, he has accompanied four generations of students through their studies; the German student populace is well-acquainted with him. In 2003, Jamiri became a regular artist for the Spiegel OnlineSpiegel Online
Spiegel Online , the online version of German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, is one the most visited news websites written in the German language.- Company :...
, one of the largest and most acclaimed online magazines in Germany. Altogether, it is estimated that Jamiri has over a million monthly readers.
Jamiri also publishes comic collections in a classical format (DIN A4 with 48 pages). Since 1994 he has published eight such collections. Although these collections are only available in German currently, translations are underway.
Style, Development and Content
Jamiri's comics often deal with his alter egoAlter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
. The settings are usually local, real places in Germany, and are populated by people in his life, first and foremost his wife, Beate. Many of the depicted incidents are borrowed from actual experiences. The realistic depictions of places and people sometimes draw speculation from fans that the characters are exactly as portrayed. His comic reality is flexible, however. As with many authors, the circumstances are edited creatively, and are sometimes pure imagination.
The authenticity of the people and lifestyles allows many Germans to identify with the comics. Those printed in Unicum have been gathered by many generations of students and hung in dormitories because they mirror daily life. The struggles with dominant girlfriend Beate, with unruly computers and broken-down cars, with shrinking wallets and increasing age, and with other perils of daily life, unite Jamiri and his readers as comrades of fate.
In these struggles, the comic figure Jamiri is clearly positioned as an antihero who regularly endures defeat. However, he puts these defeats into perspective, indeed, nearly celebrates them, with abundant sarcasm
Sarcasm
Sarcasm is “a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt.” Though irony and understatement is usually the immediate context, most authorities distinguish sarcasm from irony; however, others argue that sarcasm may or often does involve irony or employs...
and self-irony, and despite everything, has the last word. The steadfastness of the protagonist who will not be kept down by a cruel world could explain the enduring popularity of Jamiri and the loyalty of fans who identify strongly with the underdog
Underdog (competition)
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...
.
Jamiri touches on a wide range of personal topics in his comics. Casual commentary about societal issues is often tucked away within the narrative. Even so, he polarizes his readership with pointed observations and punch lines. Jamiri is just as relentless with the world as he is with his protagonists and alter-ego.
Throughout his career, the artist has encountered many irate reader protests. Two themes in particular trigger the ire of letter writers: the portrayal of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, who, as a merry white-haired man with a bushy beard, often plays a part in the daily life of Jamiri comic characters, and the subject of men and women and relationships
Intimate relationship
An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Physical intimacy is characterized by romantic or passionate love and attachment, or sexual activity. The term is also sometimes used euphemistically for a sexual...
and sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, in which the usual clichés are highlighted with blithe exaggeration.
Jamiri fans regularly jump to his defense against critical letters or commentary in internet forums, and make a case for the freedom of expression. More than once, these forum wars have hinged on the definition of satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
. Jamiri's fans appreciate exactly what some find offensive: the contemplative but irreverent handling of sensitive topics. They find the nonchalance and flouting of convention liberating. In this light, Jamiri's comics cut across generational lines, particularly among students from year to year.
The delight of the artist in provoking such controversy
Controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
is apparent in his responses to criticism. On multiple occasions, Jamiri has followed disputed comics with sequels, sometimes several. One of the most notorious is the comic "Oeyn", in which the character Jamiri is told to stop the car because his passenger, God, needs to urinate. In the sequel "Oeyn 2," when Jamiri discusses the letters he has received from readers, God once again asks him to pull over. In "Oeyn returns," God taunts Jamiri that he would not receive any more angry letters if he did not make any more comics about Him. They debate who is the actual Creator of the Page, until the artist proves his dominance by turning God into a duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
.
Similarly, the appearance of a bosom in one of Jamiri's comic caused an outcry. Against the protest that the breasts were too well-lit, Jamiri drew "+Lux" [+Light], a more shining example of the same, and wrote "THAT'S well-lit." He replied to the resulting "record-breaking" number of letters—in which he was called, among other things, a "breast fetishist" -- with the comic "Sequel." After an apparent apology ("a horrible misunderstanding"), a female backside projects jauntily into the picture.
In one notable instance, the artist abandoned his levity for a more grave response. During the period of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
, in which the cartoonists of Islamic fanatics were threatened with death, Jamiri published the text "Freischwimmer" instead of a comic in the March 2006 edition of Unicum. After the initial remark that for him, humor had been temporarily extinguished, he addressed the current events in detail. Within the text, he supported humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and a single, universal rationality
Rationality
In philosophy, rationality is the exercise of reason. It is the manner in which people derive conclusions when considering things deliberately. It also refers to the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons for belief, or with one's actions with one's reasons for action...
that would finally render all religions obsolete. He cited the Islamic thinker Averroes
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
, that philosophy in comparison to religion is a higher and purer truth, and religion in principle is simply a way of dressing up philosophical awareness.
Through his capacity as regular artist for Unicum and the Spiegel Online
Spiegel Online
Spiegel Online , the online version of German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel, is one the most visited news websites written in the German language.- Company :...
, and through his antics with middle-class bourgeois content and intellectual inconsistencies, Jamiri functions as a comic artist of German intellectualism
Intellectualism
Intellectualism denotes the use and development of the intellect, the practice of being an intellectual, and of holding intellectual pursuits in great regard. Moreover, in philosophy, “intellectualism” occasionally is synonymous with “rationalism”, i.e. knowledge derived mostly from reason and...
and an academic. Here too, he presents himself as an architect of self-conscious discrepancies, in that he regularly links intellectual flights of fancy and banal daily activities, or sets them up in stark relief. His language-critical commentary is likewise well-known, in which he nitpicks at the misuse and gradual disappearance of the German genitive or distinguishes between "subtle" and "subliminal" in exaggerated fashion. Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
are also regular topics. Since the beginning of his stint as a regular artist for the memoranda of the German mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
community, mathematics has also become a ripe topic. In the German "Großes Kino," Jamiri will make his film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
debut with the shorts "Das schweigende Lemma" and "Last Axiom Hero."
Comic collections
- Bochum lokal (1990, Bospekt-Verlag, Bochum, Germany)
- Carpe Noctem (1994, Unicum Edition, Bochum, Germany; republished 2002, Carlsen-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany)
- Bohème 29 (1995, Unicum Edition, Bochum, Germany; republished 2002, Carlsen-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany)
- Homepages (1997, Unicum Edition, Bochum, Germany; republished 2002, Carlsen-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany)
- Kamikaze d'amour (1999, Eichborn-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, Germany).
- Dotcom Dummy (2000, Unicum Edition, Bochum, Germany; republished 2002, Carlsen-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany)
- Hypercyber (2002, Carlsen-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany)
- Richterskala (2004, Carlsen-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany)
- Pornorama (2005, Uni-Edition, Berlin, Germany)
- Autodox (2007, Uni-Edition, Berlin, Germany)
Contributions to compilations
- Association of authors: Cartoon 2000 (1999, Achterbahn-Verlag, Kiel, Germany)
- Marcel Feige: Das Große Comic-Lexikon (2001, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin, Germany)
- Winfried Ulrich: Didaktik der deutschen Sprache (2001, Klett-Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany)
- Jan-Michael Richter (Hrsg.): Ruhrcomics (working title, forthcoming, will be published in 2006)
Continuous comics artist of periodicals
- Marabo (1992 until 2004)
- Unicum (since 1993)
- Online Today (1996 until 2002)
- AOL-Magazin (1999 until 2003)
- Mitteilungen des deutschen Mathematiker-Verbandes (MDMV) (since 2002)
- Spiegel OnlineDer SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
(since 2003) - [Wirtschaftsmagazin Ruhr] (since 2004)
Single contributions in periodicals
030, Airbrush Art+Action, Berliner Zeitung, Coolibri, Designers Digest, Digital Arts, Hamburger MorgenpostHamburger Morgenpost
Hamburger Morgenpost is a daily German newspaper, published in Hamburg in tabloid format.The Hamburger Morgenpost is the second largest newspaper in Hamburg.- History :...
, Häuptling Eigener Herd, Info 3, Magic Attack, Neue Ruhr Zeitung, Petra, Prinz, Ran, TAZ, WDR Online, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Wieselflink
External links
(German)- Entry in German Wikipedia